There is a reason why God made Sara Duterte the vice president of the country, outgoing Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III said.

‘’Siya ay inilagay ng Panginoon dyan, may dahilan bakit siya inilagay dyan, inaasahan ko na yun ay magiging mabuti para sa atin (God put her there, there is a reason why God put her there and I trust that her being in that position would be good for us),’’ Sotto said.

Sotto was in third place in the May 9, 2022 vice presidential race.

The outgoing Senate chief advised Sara that she should not forget God and that she should ask God for help and not forget her countrymen.

Sotto has also the same advise for President-elect Ferdinand ‘’Bongbong’’ R. Marcos Jr.

‘’Mga suwail wag pagbigyan(Don’t give in to the disobedient). Pinakamahalaga gampanan nila ng matuwid at mabuti ang trabaho sigurado matutuwa ang kababayan natin, kapag successful sila successful din ang bansa (What is important is that they act in a straight manner and do their jobs well...and surely the people will be happy. If they are successful, the nation will be successful too),’’ he said.

When asked by Senate reporters if Marcos and Duterte should also pray, Sotto replied: ‘’Precisely yan ang sinasabi ko noon pa lang, Panginoong Diyos agad ang aking tinawag, panalangin talaga, dun magkakatalo (Precisely that was what I said before. I immediately prayed to God, yes, prayers, that’s what matters).’’

Sotto said the Filipino people have big expectations on the leadership of Marcos and Duterte.

He said the historic record of the two garnering 31 million and 32 million votes, respectively, in the May 2022 national elections might not be repeated.

‘’Sobra tiwala ng ating mag kababayan sa tulong ng Panginoon di nila sisirain (Our countrymen gave them their trust and they should not make the mistake of destroying God’s plan),’’ he explained.

On fears that the Bongbong-Sara tandem might not meet the people’s expectations, Sotto said: ‘’Ang sinasabi ko basta lumakad ka ng tuwid gawin mo ang dapat gawin di dapat matakot ang daming paraan para maresolve, may mga madaling solusyon. importante may solusyon, alam ang solusyon gawin mo (What I usually say is that you walk straight, do what is right, and don’t be afraid because there are many ways of coming up with the right solutions),’’ he pointed out.

‘’Di importante yung mabagal, dikailangan ng himnala ang kailangan hardwork... diligence (It is not important if you act slow, there is no need for a miracle.. Diligence),’’ Sotto said.

‘’Sibakin agad ang mga corrupt. baka may makakasingit, baka yung dati andyan pa rin ang tindi ng korapsyon di mademanda dahil kulang ebidensya baka maiwan pa yan (Weed out the corrupt. They may just be hiding. Those hiding might be involved in big time corruption but could not be fired because there is lack of evidence).

Sotto said the incoming administration should not allow the corrupt to stay in office, however large in number they may be.